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"Saying 'I notice you're a nerd' is like saying, 'Hey, I notice that you'd rather be intelligent than be stupid, that you'd rather be thoughtful than be vapid, that you believe that there are things that matter more than the arrest record of Lindsay Lohan. Why is that?' In fact, it seems to me that most contemporary insults are pretty lame. Even 'lame' is kind of lame. Saying 'You're lame' is like saying 'You walk with a limp.' Yeah, whatever, so does 50 Cent, and he's done all right for himself."— John Green

9.25.2013

YALLFest Interview with Ransom Riggs

Hey everyone! Here's another exciting YALLFest interview to share with you! If you didn't know (and you really should because it is an awesome event) YALLFest is a great YA Author Festival held in Charleston, South Carolina hosted by Blue Bicycle Books. Still a baby, with 2013 being it's third year, YALLFest brings some of the BIGGEST names in YA books together for one day of ridiculous amazing fun. To get people excited, they have picked bloggers across the internet to host interviews with the authors attending the festival. I am one such lucky blogger! Check out the rockstar author that will be gracing us with his presence at the festival down below and keep checking back as the countdown to YALLFest keeps going! And you can always follow ALL the updates by checking out their twitter: @YALLFest

The Interview

What one thing do you need to have when you write?Silence. My noise-cancelling headphones have become almost essential.

What is the hardest line to write- the first or the last?The first. I rewrite and rewrite it a million times. The last comes easy.

Tell us 5 random facts about yourself.1. I’m six foot four. 2. I lived on a working farm until I was five. 3. I used to know how to cook Indian food but now I've forgotten. 4. I love documentaries. 5. One day I will conquer the moon.

What are you working on now?A novel for Little, Brown the plot of which is SECRET! (Sort of, for now. But I’m really excited about it.)

What is your favorite genre to write in? To Read?Oh, definitely YA to write in. I read everything, lots of YA, lots of adult, nonfiction of all sorts. I even read poetry when I’m feeling ambitious. I think it’s crucial to have lots of different influences. If you only read in the genre you write in, your writing will sound like everything else that’s already out there.

"I do a lot of different things, which can make for a rambling and confused-sounding answer when I am asked, as I often am in work-obsessed Los Angeles, “So ... what do you do?” But I will attempt to answer this question, in list form:

• I write books. First, a non-fiction book about Sherlock Holmes. Then a novel about peculiar children. Then a book of found photographs with writing on them. I'm fairly certain there are more novels on the way. I can feel them clanking around half-formed in my brain.

• I make movies. I went to film school and made a lot of shorts there, then after I graduated I got jobs making short and some book trailers, too, like this and this. I also write screenplays and make the occasional video blog.

• I word-blog for mentalfloss.com. My favorite column is a series of photo-travel-essays called Strange Geographies."